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Washington metropolitan area
|image_skyline = US Navy 030926-F-2828D-307 Aerial view of the Washington Monument.jpg |imagesize = 230px |image_map= Arlington_County_-_Virginia_-_2.jpg |mapsize = 230px |image_map1= Old Town Alexandria.jpg |mapsize1 = 210px |image_caption= Washington, D.C. | nickname = | map_caption= Arlington, Virginia | map_caption1= Alexandria, Virginia |image_dot_map = |dot_mapsize = |dot_map_caption = |dot_x = |dot_y = |pushpin_map = |pushpin_label_position = |pushpin_map_caption = |pushpin_mapsize = |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = }} |subdivision_type1 = U.S. state/federal district |subdivision_name1 = District of Columbia Virginia Maryland West Virginia |subdivision_type2 = |subdivision_name2 = ---- |subdivision_type3 = Principal cities |subdivision_name3= Washington, Arlington, Alexandria |subdivision_name4 = |government_footnotes = |government_type = |leader_title = |leader_name = |leader_title1 = |leader_name1 = |leader_title2 = |leader_name2 = |leader_title3 = |leader_name3 = |leader_title4 = |leader_name4 = |established_title = |established_date = |established_title2 = |established_date2 = |established_title3 = |established_date3 = |area_magnitude = |unit_pref = |area_footnotes = (2010) |area_total_km2 = |area_land_km2 = |area_water_km2 = |area_total_sq_mi = |area_land_sq_mi = |area_water_sq_mi = |area_water_percent = |area_urban_km2 = |area_urban_sq_km = 3644.2 |area_metro_km2 = 14412 |area_metro_sq_mi = 5564.6 |area_blank1_title = |area_blank1_ mi2 = |area_blank2_title = |area_blank2_sq_mi = |population_as_of = 2012 |population_footnotes = (Table of United States Metropolitan Statistical Areas) |population_note = MSA & CSA = 2012, Urban & Densities = 2010 |population_total = 5,860,342 (7th) |population_density_km2 = |population_density_sq_mi = 962.9 |population_metro = |population_density_metro_km2 = |population_density_metro_sq_mi = |population_urban = 4,586,770 (8th) |population_density_urban_km2 = |population_density_urban_sq_mi = |population_blank1_title = CSA |population_blank1 = 9,331,587 (4th) |population_blank2 = |population_density_blank1_km2 = |population_density_blank1_sq_mi = |timezone = ET |utc_offset = -5 |timezone_DST = EST |utc_offset_DST = -4 |latd= |latm= |lats= |latNS= |longd= |longm= |longs= |longEW= |elevation_footnotes = |elevation_m =0–716 |elevation_ft = 0–2,350 }} The Washington metropolitan area is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The area includes all of the federal district and parts of the U.S. states of Maryland and Virginia, along with a small portion of West Virginia. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget defines the area as the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV metropolitan statistical area, a metropolitan statistical area used for statistical purposes by the United States Census Bureau and other agencies. The area includes as its principal cities Washington as well as the Virginia county of Arlington and city of Alexandria. The Office of Management and Budget also includes the metropolitan statistical area as part of the larger Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area, which has a population of 9,331,587 as of the 2012 Census Estimate.State Totals: Vintage 2012 - U.S Census Bureau. Census.gov. Retrieved on 2013-08-16. The area is also sometimes referred to as the National Capital Region, particularly by federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security. Another term used to describe the region is the DC Area. The area is referred to by a few as the DMV, a shorthand for DC, Maryland, and Virginia. The area in the region that is surrounded by Interstate 495 is also referred to as being "inside the Beltway". The city of Washington, which is at the center of the area, is referred to as "the District" because it is the federal District of Columbia, and is not part of any state. The Virginia portion of the region is known as Northern Virginia. The Washington metropolitan area is the most educated and, by some measures, the most affluent metropolitan area in the United States. , the population of the Washington metropolitan area was estimated to be 5,860,342, making it the largest metropolitan area in the Census' Southeast region and the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the country.Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2009 Composition The U.S. Census Bureau divides the Washington statistical metropolitan area into two metropolitan divisions: * Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV Metropolitan Division, comprising the majority of the metropolitan area * Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD Metropolitan Division, consisting of Montgomery and Frederick counties Note that metropolitan area and metropolitan statistical area should not be confused with Metropolitan Division. Political subdivisions The area includes the following counties, districts, and independent cities: District of Columbia * Washington, D.C. Maryland The following counties are categorized as part of the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV metropolitan statistical area: *Calvert County *Charles County *Frederick County *Montgomery County *Prince George's County Although associated with the Washington metropolitan area, the following counties are categorized as part of the Baltimore–Towson, MD metropolitan statistical area: *Anne Arundel County *Howard County Although associated with the Washington metropolitan area, the following county is categorized as part of the California-Lexington Park, MD Metropolitan Area: *St. Mary's County Virginia Counties and independent cities (independent cities are listed under their surrounding county or parent county):The cities bordering more than one county (Alexandria, Falls Church and Fredericksburg) are listed under the county they were part of before incorporation as a city. *Arlington County **City of Alexandria *Clarke County *Culpeper County *Fairfax County **City of Fairfax **City of Falls Church *Fauquier County *Loudoun County *Prince William County **City of Manassas **City of Manassas Park *Rappahannock County *Spotsylvania County **City of Fredericksburg *Stafford County *Warren County West Virginia *Jefferson County All three counties together also help comprise the suburban jurisdictions to Washington, D.C.) Total Regions: 22 (6 independent cities, 15 counties, 1 district), plus 3 Maryland counties associated with unofficially (grand total 25) By geographic type: *Core: 3 Regions (1 independent city, 1 county, 1 district) *Suburban: 12 Regions (5 independent cities, 7 counties) *Exurban: 8 Regions (1 independent city, 7 counties) By state: *Maryland: 5 Regions (0 independent cities, 5 counties) *Virginia: 15 Regions (6 independent cities, 9 counties) *West Virginia: 1 Region (0 independent cities, 1 county) By region type: *Independent cities: 6 (Virginia: 6) *Counties: 15 (Maryland: 5, Virginia: 9, West Virginia: 1) *District: 1 Core *Total: 3 **District of Columbia: 1 ***Washington **Virginia: 2 ***Independent cities: 1 ****City of Alexandria ***Counties: 1 ****Arlington County Suburban *Total: 12 **Maryland 4 ***Counties: 4 ****Charles County ****Frederick County ****Montgomery County ****Prince George's County **Virginia: 8 ***Independent cities: 4 ****City of Fairfax ****City of Falls Church ****City of Manassas ****City of Manassas Park ***Counties: 3 ****Fairfax County ****Loudoun County ****Prince William County Exurban An exurb is "a non-rural residential community located outside a city, beyond the suburbs". *Total: 8 **Maryland: 1 ***Counties: 1 ****Calvert County **Virginia: 6 ***Independent cities: 1 ****City of Fredericksburg ***Counties: 5 ****Clarke County ****Fauquier County ****Spotsylvania County ****Stafford County ****Warren County **West Virginia: 1 ***Counties: 1 ****Jefferson County Associated with (unofficially) (These areas are not shown on the labor pattern map.) *Total: 3 **Maryland: 3 ***Baltimore–Towson, MD metropolitan statistical area: 2 ****Anne Arundel County ****Howard County ***Lexington Park, MD micropolitan statistical area: 1 ****St. Mary's County }} Regional organizations Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Founded in 1957, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) is a regional organization of 21 Washington-area local governments, as well as area members of the Maryland and Virginia state legislatures, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives. MWCOG provides a forum for discussion and the development of regional responses to issues regarding the environment, transportation, public safety, homeland security, affordable housing, community planning, and economic development. The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board, a component of MWCOG, is the federally designated metropolitan planning organization for the metropolitan Washington area. Principal cities is visible in the horizon.]] The metropolitan area includes the following principal cities (most of which are not incorporated as cities; one, Arlington, is actually a county): *Washington, D.C. *Arlington, Virginia *Alexandria, Virginia *Bethesda, Maryland *Frederick, Maryland *Gaithersburg, Maryland *Reston, Virginia *Rockville, Maryland *Silver Spring, Maryland Demographics along the Potomac River, featuring portions of Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Old Town Alexandria, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, and National Harbor, Maryland are visible.]] Politics The relative strength of the major political parties within the region is shown by the presidential election results since 1960, as presented in the table to the right. Racial composition The area has been a magnet for international immigration since the late 1960s. It is also a magnet for internal migration (persons moving from one region of the U.S. to another). Census estimates show that persons of post-1965 immigrant stock will likely represent 25% of the region's population by 2010, forming a bigger population bloc than native blacks for the first time.Population Estimates Racial composition of the Washington, D.C. area: ;2011 American Community Survey * Non-Hispanic White : 48.2% * Black or African American : 25.3% * Hispanic or Latino : 14.1% * Asian : 9.3% * Mixed and Other : 3.1% ;2010 U.S. Census * White : 54.8% * Black : 25.8% * Asian : 9.3% * Hispanic : 13.8% (4.1% Salvadoran, 2.1% Mexican, 0.9% Guatemalan, 0.9% Puerto Rican, 0.8% Peruvian, 0.7% Honduran, 0.7% Bolivian) * Mixed and Other : 3.7% ;2006http://census.gov/popest/counties/asrh/CC-EST2006-RACE6.html * White : 51.7% * Black : 26.3% * Asian : 8.4% * Hispanic : 11.6% * Mixed and Other : 2.0% ;1980 * White : 67.8% * Black : 26.0% * Asian : 2.5% * Hispanic : 2.8% * Mixed and Other : 0.9% Social indicators Education The Washington metropolitan area has ranked as the highest-educated metropolitan area in the nation for four decades. As of the 2006–2008 American Community Survey, the three most educated places with 200,000 people or more in Washington–Arlington–Alexandria by bachelor's degree attainment (population 25 and over) are Arlington, Virginia (68.0%), Fairfax County, Virginia (58.8%), and Montgomery County, Maryland (56.4%). Forbes magazine stated in its 2008 "America's Best- And Worst-Educated Cities" report: "The D.C. area is less than half the size of L.A., but both cities have around 100,000 Ph.D.'s." Health The Washington, D.C. metro area has held the top spot in the American College of Sports Medicine's annual American Fitness Index ranking of the United States' 50 most populous metropolitan areas for two years running. The report cites, among other things, the high average fitness level and healthy eating habits of residents, the widespread availability of health care and facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, and parks, low rates of obesity and tobacco use relative to the national average, and the high median household income as contributors to the city's community health. Income within a 5 mile (8 km) radius of Tysons Corner Center is $174,809. ]] In recent years the Washington metropolitan area has overtaken the San Francisco Bay Area as the highest-income metropolitan area in the nation. The median household income of the region is US$72,800. The two highest median household income counties in the nation – Loudoun and Fairfax County, Virginia – are components of the MSA (and #3 is Howard County, officially in Baltimore's sphere but strongly connected with Washington's); measured in this way, Alexandria ranks 10th among municipalities in the region – 11th if Howard is included – and 23rd in the entire United States. 12.2% of Northern Virginia's 881,136 households, 8.5% of suburban Maryland's 799,300 households, and 8.2% of Washington's 249,805 households have an annual income in excess of $200,000, compared to 3.7% nationally. Women According to a report by the American Human Development Project, women in the Washington metropolitan area are ranked as having the highest income and educational attainment amongst the 25 most populous metropolitan areas in the nation, while Asian American women in the region had the highest life expectancy, at 92.3 years. Economy is home to the tallest high-rises in the region, partly due to the District's height restrictions. As a result many of the region's tallest buildings are outside the city proper. ]] The various agencies of the Federal Government employ over 140,000 professionals in the Washington D.C. area. A sizable number in the Washington D.C. area work for defense and civilian contracting companies that conduct business directly with the Federal Government (many of these firms are referred to as 'Beltway Bandits' under the local vernacular). As a result, the Federal Government provides the underlying basis of the economy in the region. However, the Washington D.C. area is increasingly home to a diverse segment of businesses not directly related to the Federal Government. The Washington, D.C. area has the largest science and engineering work force of any metropolitan area in the nation in 2006 according to the Greater Washington Initiative at 324,530, ahead of the combined San Francisco Bay Area work force of 214,500, and Chicago metropolitan area at 203,090, citing data from U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Claritas Inc., and other sources. The Washington, D.C. area was ranked as the second best High-Tech Center in a statistical analysis of the top 100 Metropolitan areas in the United States by American City Business Journals in May 2009, behind the Silicon Valley and ahead of the Boston metropolitan area. Fueling the metropolitan area's ranking was the reported 241,264 tech jobs in the region, a total eclipsed only by New York, Los Angeles, and the combined San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland regions, as well as the highest master's or doctoral degree attainment among the 100 ranked metropolitan areas. A Dice.com report showed that the Washington–Baltimore area had the second-highest number of tech jobs listed: 8,289, after the New York metro area with 9,195 jobs. The Washington D.C. area is home to hundreds of major research universities, think tanks, and non-profit organizations. Additionally, Washington, D.C. is a top tourism destination as flocks of Americans and foreigners from around the world visit the museums and monuments of the Capital city year round with the peak season being during the Spring and Summer months of April through August. Moreover, the Washington D.C. area attracts tens of major conferences and conventions each year which also contribute greatly to the region's economy. Changes in house prices for the D.C. area are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the Case–Shiller index; the statistic is published by Standard & Poor's and is also a component of S&P's 10-city composite index of the value of the U.S. residential real estate market. Primary industries .]] Biotechnology Not limited to its proximity to the National Institutes of Health, Maryland's Washington suburbs are a major center for biotechnology. Prominent local biotech companies include MedImmune, The Institute for Genomic Research, Human Genome Sciences, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Defense contracting Many defense contractors are based in the region to be close to the Pentagon in Arlington. Local defense contractors include Lockheed Martin, the largest, as well as Raytheon, General Dynamics, BAE Systems, Northrup Grumman, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), CACI, and Orbital Sciences Corporation. Largest companies .]] The following Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in the region: History headquarters in Fort Belvoir.]] The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure resulted in a significant shuffling of military, civilian, and defense contractor employees in the Washington D.C. area. The largest individual site impacts of the time are as follows:Appendix C BRAC 2005 Closure and Realignment Impacts by State *Fort Belvoir gained 11,858 employees, primarily as a result of the relocation of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency into a massive new headquarters within the fort. *Fort Lee gained 7,344 mostly military employees. *Fort Meade gained 5,361 employees, primarily as a result of the expansion of the National Security Agency. *Walter Reed Army Medical Center lost 5,630 employees as part of its realignment. It was later closed and consolidated into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. BRAC 2005 was the largest infrastructure expansion by the Army Corps of Engineers since World War II, resulting in the Mark Center, tallest building they have ever constructed, as well as National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Campus East, which at 2.4 million square feet is the largest building the Corps have constructed since the Pentagon.BRAC 2005: on time, on budget in Northeast Transportation ]] station on the Washington Metro]] Major airports *Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), located in Dulles, Virginia – the busiest in the region *Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), located in Arlington County, Virginia – the closest to Washington *Baltimore–Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), located in Linthicum, Maryland – in the Baltimore metropolitan area and the busiest in the Baltimore-Washington area Rail transit systems *Washington Metro – DC, MD, VA (rapid transit) (WMATA) *MARC Train – DC, MD, WV (commuter rail) *Virginia Railway Express – DC, VA (commuter rail) *Amtrak – DC, MD, VA, WV (commuter rail, inter-city rail) Bus transit systems *DC Circulator – Washington, D.C. (WMATA) *Metrobus – Washington metropolitan area (WMATA) *Metroway - Arlington County, Virginia and Alexandria, Virginia (bus rapid transit) (WMATA) *Ride On – Montgomery County, Maryland *TheBus – Prince George's County, Maryland *ART – Arlington County, Virginia *DASH – Alexandria, Virginia *Fairfax Connector – Fairfax County, Virginia *CUE Bus – Fairfax, Virginia *PRTC – Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park *TransIT - Frederick County, Maryland *FRED – Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania County and Stafford County Bicycle sharing systems *Capital Bikeshare - Washington, D.C., Arlington, Virginia, Alexandria, Virginia, and Montgomery County, Maryland Culture Sports teams Listing of the professional sports teams in the Washington metropolitan area: * National Basketball Association (NBA) ** Washington Wizards * Major League Baseball (MLB) ** Washington Nationals * National Football League (NFL) ** Washington Redskins * National Hockey League (NHL) ** Washington Capitals * Major League Soccer (MLS) ** D.C. United * Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) ** Washington Mystics * Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) ** Southern Maryland Blue Crabs Media The Washington metropolitan area is home to USA Today, C-SPAN, PBS, and BET. The two main newspapers are The Washington Post and The Washington Times. Local television channels include WRC-TV 4 (NBC), WTTG 5 (FOX), WJLA 7 (ABC), WUSA 9 (CBS), WDCA 20 (MyNetworkTV), WETA-TV 26 (PBS), WDCW 50 (CW), and WPXW 66 (Ion). NewsChannel 8 is a 24/7 local news provider available only to cable subscribers. Radio stations serving the area include: WETA-FM, WIHT, WMAL-AM, and WTOP. Area codes * 202 – Washington, D.C. * 571/703 – Northern Virginia including the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church as well as Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun counties (571 created 1 March 2000; 703 in October 1947). * 240/301 – northern and western Maryland * 540 – Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania * 304 – West Virginia Sister cities See also * List of people from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area * List of U.S. metropolitan statistical areas in Virginia * Potomac primary * Northeast megalopolis References External links *OMB Bulletin No. 05-02 *Urban Areas of Virginia *May 2006 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates; Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV Metropolitan Division *May 2005 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates; Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV Metropolitan Division *Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV MSA Population and Components of Change * Category:Washington metropolitan area * Category:Metropolitan areas of Maryland Category:Metropolitan areas of Virginia Category:Metropolitan areas of West Virginia Category:Regions of Maryland Category:Regions of Virginia Category:Regions of West Virginia